58th Raising Day parade: held in Amritsar BSF shot down 17 drones along India-Pak front this year, says DG

This was the first time BSF had organised the parade in the holy city of Amritsar. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai took salute of the parade as the chief guest. He was accompanied by Gurjeet Singh Aujla, MP Amritsar, and Jasbir Singh Sandhu, MLA (West) Amritsar. Senior officers from Army, civil administration, state police, and GNDU Amritsar were also present on the occasion. Rai said that women personnel are increasingly being engaged in various duties being rendered by the force, which is reflective of the women empowerment vision of PM Narendra Modi.

The parade comprised a march past of contingents – including a Mahila Prahari Contingent, decorated officers & troops, the famed Camel Contingent and Camel Band, mounted columns, and Dog Squad – displaying the technological advances made by the force. Mahila camel riders made a special appearance during the parade for the first time in the history of BSF. Earlier, the chief guest laid a wreath at the memorial of BSF bravehearts in a solemn ceremony here. The BSF director general also paid homage to all the bravehearts.

In his address, the BSF director general also said that the force has come a long way from just 25 battalions initially to evolving into the world’s largest border guarding force with 193 battalions and with a strength of more than 2.65 lakh men and women deployed in every kind of extreme terrain, temperatures and other challenging geographies.

Rai said that the BSF has been effectively thwarting the growing challenges of infiltration, drugs and arms smuggling and the menace of drones from across the border. The chief guest also bestowed BSF personnel with Police Medals for Gallantry to the next of kin of the bravehearts, and President’s Police Medals for distinguished service to serving and retired BSF personnel.

The prestigious ‘General Choudhary Trophy’ was awarded to 66 Battalion for their exceptional performance. The Director General’s Banner was awarded to 48 Bn; DG’s Banner for LWE Operations was awarded to 76 Bn; DG’s Welfare Trophy was awarded to 135 Bn; and DG’s Trophy for Best Field G Team was awarded to FGT Kolkata. The Maharana Pratap Trophy for Best Border Management was awarded to Frontier BSF Jammu, while the Ashwini Trophy for excellence in Sports and Training was awarded to Frontier BSF Gujarat. The chief guest also released the annual ‘Borderman’ magazine of the force on the occasion. A dog show by NTCD BSF trained dogs; battle drills display by camel mounted praharis and the daredevil motorcycle show by Seema Bhawani All Women Daredevil Motorcycle team, and Janbaz Daredevil Men’s Motorcycle team drew loud cheer and applause from the audience.